Simple ways to make your home more appealing to buyers

These great tips aim to make your home more attractive to more buyers. The plan is to make your home as appealing as possible so that buyers become emotionally involved and when this happens, they will reach a little deeper into their pockets to secure it.

1. A lick of Paint

A fresh coat of paint will bring you the best bang for your buck. The best colour palette to appeal to the most buyers is a fresh shade of white. You may think the hand-painted rosaries on the ceilings are superb, and they we’re at one point in time, but now-a-days, white cant be beat. If you’re on a budget, simply crack out the rollers and the paints (don’t forget the drop sheets) and get to work yourself, OR if you’re time poor or you have equity to spare on pre-sale preparations you can call in the professionals.

2. Rental Furniture

Depending on your situation, the second best bang for your buck is often rental furniture, but this is best done when you’re not living in the home. Some furniture styling companies also offer partial services where you could hire their products to dress a particular room (you might finally be converting that junk room to something more useful like a guest room or kids playroom) or if your current furnishings are lacking in some areas – you never got around to hanging those artworks or that mirror.

3. De-clutter

Strip the surfaces of your benchtops, mantels, camodes, dressers and bedsides of any personal items including photos, books, nick-nacks and general clutter. Box them up in storage for the campaign. You don’t want buyers wasting their time pondering your family photos instead of immersing and envisioning themselves in the home. Strip your wardrobes and walk-ins of clothes/accessories you haven’t worn in 12 months – this is also a wonderful opportunity to donate your old belongings that are in good condition to charity. Attack the linen cupboard and re-arrange, colour coordinate and remove 50% of the overflow to storage. Buyers want to know that there’s ample space for their things, so removing some of yours will create this sense of space.

4. Remove curtains

Out-dated window dressings can be a real turn off. If you’re lucky enough not to have to worry about privacy, then simply leave the windows un-dressed for maximum natural light. If not, a simple neutral coloured (white) cotton or linen drape from a cost effective retailer will do the trick.

5. Clean, clean and clean

Sometimes when we live in a home day in and day out, we can’t see the build up of dirt and grime covering our homes. I couldn’t recommend highly enough the importance of getting a quality cleaner in ahead of your open for inspections. Perhaps you thought the walls needed a paint, but a quality clean reveals they are perfectly fine. Do you have a railing on the staircase that’s looking a little worn? Give it a scrub and see if perhaps it’s just a build up of dirt. There’s nothing better than that feeling of serenity and that fresh smell after the cleaner has been – and buyers love this feel too. This goes for the windows too.

6. Mirrors

A mirror strategically placed can make a room look so much bigger and perhaps angled to reflect the outside brings a sense of the outdoors in. Darker rooms and hallways can also benefit from reflected light that a mirror can bring.

7. First impressions

Your front entrance and the way it looks from the street is central to creating an emotional connection with your buyers. Buyers will often do a drive by of your house before the official open homes, and if they aren’t impressed, they may never show up to see more. Stand across the road from your house and look at it with fresh eyes. Considering getting out the touch up paint on anything that’s peeling and flaking, fix any evident or concerning wood rot in timbers or calcifications on other materials. Sometimes a high pressure house washer could be the solution. A buyer wants to know that they home they buy has been cared for and maintained well by it’s previous owners.

8. Give dated bathrooms a facelift A nice bath helps sell a house but, don’t invest in a total renovation which is often time consuming, costly and not to everyone’s taste. Most of the time, a dated bath could be enhanced by fresh white walls, a good clean and some simple accessorising – white towels, hand soap and a beautiful white orchid are my go-to staples for a bathroom makeover. If you have a dated frosted shower screen, consider a cost effective replacement with a glass frameless screen or replace the vanity with a cost effective off the shelf option. Be sure to replace shower curtains with a crisp new white one.

9. Front yard

Like the first impression created by the homes street façade, it’s essential to reinforce those positive first impressions with a neat and tidy front yard or courtyard or it may even be your carport. Plant some perennials in the garden beds for a pop of pretty. And a planter or two beside the front door will enhance its appeal. Welcome your buyers with a simple brush floor mat at the front door – I especially love the ones printed with ‘Hello’.

10. Spiff up t

he back yard

De-clutter a yard filled with kids toys. It’s OK to keep the kids trampoline in place as long as there’s plenty of other space in the garden for adults to enjoy. Mow at least weekly, weed the garden and add a layer of mulch to keep maintenance low during your campaign. Ensure the pool is sparkling clean and if deckings are looking a little worn, consider a coat of oil to bring them back to looking good as new.